Is it safe to dine outside when the air quality is low? What one NJ doctor recommends

Chris Cannon, owner of Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen in Morristown, is thinking about shutting down his verdant outdoor dining space, a space that for the past three years was in great demand.

"Because of the air quality, no one wants to sit outside," said Cannon. "This week, outdoor dining is totally destroyed."

Perhaps.

After all, New Jersey is experiencing some of the worst air pollution in recent memory, thanks to Canadian wildfires that have sent smoke into our region. Last night, it was nearly impossible not to smell the smoke or notice a dark haze all around. Today, forecasters say the condition will worsen.

Still some restaurateurs say it's too soon to tell whether outdoor dining will be impacted by the unhealthy air.

"It certainly can't help," said Craig Kunisch, co-owner of the Allendale Bar & Grill and the Mahwah Bar & Grill, American pubs with large outdoor spaces. "But it is still too early to tell."

The reason?

Thus far, he said, his restaurants haven't gotten any cancellations or requests for indoor dining only.

Is it safe to enjoy outdoor dining right now?

Nikos Panteleakis, manager of Oceanos, the longtime family-owned and -run seafood spot in Fair Lawn, reports that last night no outdoor diner complained about the thick air, though "most people ate inside."

Panteleakis, whose family hails from Greece, said that the region is having a great spring, and experiencing "Greek weather — the best spring, cool mornings and cool evenings, and no sticky humidity. The only thing missing is the Mediterranean."

Panteleakis said it is commonplace to experience such pollution in southern Greece. In fact, he said, several times when he has visited Krokees, the little town outside of Sparta, that his family is from, forest fires cause the air to be filled with ash that covers parked cars and settles on the streets. "It's normal there," he said.

Wednesday morning, Lauren DeLorenzo and her niece, Vivi Dombrowski, 2,  ate their breakfast at the tables just outside of World’s Best Bagels in downtown Jersey City.

DeLorenzo said that when she dined  at Gringos, another downtown Jersey City restaurant, the night before, she had to eat indoors because of the smoke. However, she said the smoke Wednesday morning was not as bad and had no trouble eating outdoors.

Russell Stern, owner of Stern & Bow Restaurant in Closter, too said that customers don't seem perturbed about dining outside — at least not yet.

"I think it will depend on what people hear on the news," he said. "If they scare them enough, then who knows what will be."

Stern said that the bad air didn't affect outdoor dining at his restaurant last night. "The smoke was pretty heavy," he said. "You could smell that acrid fire smell. But not in the tent outside. The tent was clear — no smoke smell."

Air quality means people are wearning masks outside

The scenes in Morristown Wednesday were reminiscent of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many pedestrians wearing masks as they walked through town.

At the Homestead Bar & Kitchen, the outdoor dining area that can seat about 50 people was completely empty. David Walsh, whose family owns the restaurant, said there would normally be at least a few people eating outside during the weekday lunch hours.

The area is not officially closed, Walsh said, but with lots of space available inside, customers decided not to sit in the potentially harmful air. He is optimistic that the smoke will not significantly impact business as long as it clears out in the next couple days.

"It's a bit of a bummer. It'll cost us the patio for a day or two, but it won't kill it," Walsh said. He then added with a laugh, "If it was the weekend, I'd be more upset."

NJ doctor recommends eating inside

It doesn't matter whether you can smell smoke, said Khalil Savary, M.D., pediatric pulmonologist at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark.

"Just because you can't smell it, it doesn't mean it isn't there," Dr. Savary said.

In fact, Dr. Savary advises reducing your exposure to the outdoors as much as possible. "If you can choose to eat indoors or outdoors, you should try to eat indoors," he said — even if you don't have asthma or any other pulmonary diagnosis. "Having this amount of exposure can still create inflammation in your lungs."

He went on to say that restaurants tend to be located in high car-trafficked, often urban areas, which means that outdoor diners are already more likely to be subjected to breathing unhealthy air from diesel emissions and car exhaust.

"Most restaurant are not in the park," he said. "Often you're eating outside at some restaurant cause there is a parking space outside right next to you."

So, he said, eat indoors, whenever possible. And while driving to the restaurant, keep your windows shut and your car air on the "recirculate" mode "so air from the outside doesn't enter inside your car."

— Kyle Morel and Kevin R. Wexler contributed.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Dining outdoors when the air quality is bad